Puffins
On the rocky islet.
Eysteinn Guðni Guðnason — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Eysteinn Guðni Guðnason — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Michal Klajban — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Michal Klajban — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lauren A Neal — CC BY-SA 4.0
Borgarfjörður eystri is a fjord in east Iceland, with the small harbour of Hafnarhólmi at its edge, about 43 km in a straight line north-east of Egilsstaðir. It belongs to the municipality of Múlaþing and has only around 91 inhabitants, and its main village is Bakkagerði. The fjord takes its name from Álfaborg, the «elf rock», where some locals believe the queen of the elves lives. It is known for a large puffin colony and for hiking in its colourful mountains, and since 2004 it has hosted a summer music festival. Bakkagerði also has a small museum dedicated to the painter Jóhannes Kjarval, who grew up in the area. Green fields stretch between sharp mountains streaked green, brown and yellow, and the village's few houses line the shore of the bay. At Hafnarhólmi a small rocky islet joined to the harbour holds puffin burrows on its grassy slopes, with wooden platforms and stairs that bring visitors close to the birds without disturbing them. Visiting is free. The puffins nest here in summer, and the road to the fjord crosses a high mountain pass, so drive with care in bad weather.
On the rocky islet.
Álfaborg.
Around the fjord.
Bakkagerði, Borgarfjörður eystri, Iceland
In summer, the nesting season.
It crosses a mountain pass; take care in bad weather.